Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

The Gaslight Anthem caught fire in 2008 with the release of The '59 Sound a gorgeous album that managed to rock hard with a heart breaking earthy sincerity. With that album Gaslight Anthem aligned themselves as the heirs to the Jersey song writing crown. Spiritual descendent of Bruce Springsteen they sang the working man's blues like no other; telling tales of drugs, lost loves and great records. After relentlessly touring Gaslight Anthem found themselves on the cusp of greatness, they've become festival stalwarts but they now need to produce a breakthrough record to shatter the glass celling and advance to that next level. However this isn't going to be an easy climb to the top, The '59 Sound is as much a curse as it is a blessing, The Gaslight Anthem are now faced with the near impossible task of living up to and even surpassing an album which already feels like their definitive statement.

"American Slang" the first taste of the album of the same name, suggests that not much has changed in the world of The Gaslight Anthem. Brian Fallons continues to deliver heart breaking couplets, albeit here he seems to focus more on vitriolic sound bytes rather than the densely packed storytelling that comprised the best moments on The '59 Sound. "American Slang" soon feels almost too much like a cookie cut Gaslight Anthem track it has all the trademarks; the powerhouse chorus with it's emphasised punchlines, it has the quiet middle section before exploding for a final heart wrenching the chorus, it has the familiarly catchy chord sequences we've come to expect from Gaslight and of course "American Slang" features the vocal interplay between Fallons gritty yelp and the pleading cries of the backing vocalists. It's all very slick, and it's very well crafted but the formula feels stale. This could easily have been an outcast from The '59 Sound sessions, expect it wouldn't have been quite good enough to make the final cut. "American Slang"s greatest weakness is that it never quite feels sincere, it's simply too generic, and lacks the impact of their earlier work. "American Slang" feels cosy not visceral and not particularly thrilling; and it's this cosy almost lazy feel that undermines the tracks sincerity, and without that heartfelt believability Gaslight Anthem just don't feel special. Now it's not all bad news, "American Slang" is a fine offering, and if it's a indicator of the forth coming LP it seems like we'll be treated to The '59 Sound Part II or dare I say it; The '59 Sound-lite. "American Slang" is good music, but it just can't truly thrill second time around. If Gaslight Anthem want true greatness their going to have to be willing to play around with the song writing formula that has served them so well, otherwise they'll fine themselves like so many other bands stuck in creative stasis, while we all wonder what could have been.